Company name: FOI Corporation
     No. Employed:
26
URL: www.foi.co.jp
Address: Headquarters: 6-38-28, Kami-asao, Asao-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, 215-0021 JAPAN
Business Description: Research and development, manufacturing, sale and maintenance of semiconductor production equipment.

Products:
• SE-3000 Oxide film etching system
• VA series Ashing system series made by Fujitsu VLSI
• ME series metal and ferroelectric film etching systems made by Fujitsu VLSI
• PFT-M Plasma display inspection system made by Fujitsu VLSI
• RENA Cleaning equipment wet process equipment by RENA of Germany
• Sale of products purchased from other companies
Market, Competition and Clients: Market:
• R&D oriented business, selling semiconductor production equipment developed by FOI, and dealer business where FOI operates as a specialized trading company.

Competition:
• FOI’s primary business is the production of oxide film etching systems for 300-mm wafers. The main competitors in this field are Tokyo Electron, Applied Materials, Lam Research.

Clients:
• Japanese and foreign semiconductor manufacturers
• Primary sales targets for the dealer side of the company are foundries in Taiwan.
Future Development: FOI is currently developing an oxide film etching system. There are plans to develop a next-generation CVD system. In addition, FOI is seeking to promote the development of etching systems and CVD systems for LCDs and CVD systems for solar batteries by using polycrystal silicon TFTs combined with the technology for large substrates. It is also moving to establish sales and service centers in Taiwan to cover the Asia/Pacific region and in the United States to cover North America and Europe. The introduction of a manufacturing base in Taiwan is also under consideration.
History:
10/1994 Established with capital of ¥10 million
3/1995 Announced MN-Z model wafer prober
8/1995 Announced FR-1 model clean robot
4/1996 Awarded certification under the Law for the Promotion of Creative Activities of Small and Medium Enterprises
3/1997 Started development of a plasma etching system for 300-mm wafers in cooperation with Kobe Steel, Ltd.
7/1998 Increased capital to ¥40 mil. By private placement
8/1998 Increased capital to ¥55.5 mil. By private placement
Started selling VA-200 microwave plasma ashing system for 200-mm wafers
12/1998 Increased capital ¥145.5 mil. By private placement
2/1999 Started selling ME-6000 and 8000high-k dielectric film etching systems for 150- and 200-mm wafers
12/1999 Started selling VA-3000 microwave plasma ashing system for 300-mm wafers and VA-3200 for 200 mm wafer version
6/2000 Started selling VA-1000 microwave plasma ashing system for 100~200 mm wafers
9/2000 Moved head office to the present location for business expansion and established a technology center.
12/2000 Started selling SE-3000 oxidation film etching system for 300-mm wafers
Increased capital to ¥645.5 mil. By private placement
3/2001 Started selling semiconductor production equipment made by Rena Sondermaschinen GmbH of Germany
4/2001 Started selling semiconductor production equipment made by ASTEC Semiconductor of Germany
Established FOI Corporation in Taiwan
Management Profile: Mr. Yutaka Okumura

Mr. Yutaka Okumura established FOI Corp. in 1994 after working for Tokyo Electron Ltd. developing etching systems for semiconductors and LCDs and participating in the planning, concept and system design as a project leader. He has also worked for NEC Corp. on R&D projects, including one for a voice recognition system.
Others: FOI Technology Corporation, the consolidated subsidiary, is headed by Masakazu Uehata and is located in Taiwan.